Before both Houses shift to the new Parliament building on September 19, the government has organised not just a group photograph of all MPs of the 17th Lok Sabha, but also a ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament with MPs of both Houses — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to attend.
Apart from the presiding officers of both Houses — Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and Leader of the Opposition Malikarjuna Kharge are expected to speak.
BJP MP Maneka Gandhi will also be speaking as the person with the most seniority in the current Lok Sabha, and former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh as the most senior from the Rajya Sabha. Former chief minister Jharkhand Shibu Soren as the person with the longest tenures in both Houses combined will be asked to speak.
Ms. Gandhi was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, losing the subsequent 1991 polls, but has been re-elected ever since then. Dr. Manmohan Singh has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 1991, while Mr. Soren won his first polls to the Lok Sabha in 1980, and was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002.
Lok Sabha proceedings will begin at 1.15 p.m., while Rajya Sabha will meet at 2.15 p.m. in the new building.
